Tesla To Begin Paying Back U.S. Government Loans

Tesla announced this week they will begin to pay back their loans from the U.S. Government later this year.

Tesla chief financial officer Deepak Ahuja told Bloomberg this week, "We are delivering on the milestones, what we're committed to...once we are delivering customer cars, that signifies completion of the project".

This suggests once Tesla begins delivering the new Model S sedan out to customers, they will begin paying back the Department of Energy loans.

Tesla also announced this week that the first Model S sedans will begin flowing out to customers in June, a month ahead when they originally put it.

“We are pleased that Tesla continues to make progress and look forward to working with them as clean, electric vehicles play an important role in our energy future,” said Damien LaVera, an Energy Department spokesman.

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Well, part of this news that wasn't in the article is that Tesla has been getting lots of private investment.

So paying off the gov is good, but again, i would seem it is still an elite car for the upper 10% at best of society. Too many things on the minds of people today to be saying this is important news when we clearly are still in a depression of slow growth.

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Tesla announced their intent to buy SolarCity and some screamed the sky is falling. Tesla moves forward with offering a complete home solution of Solar panels, battery bank and 220V charging for your Tesla and believes they have the future tied up in a single one stop shopping solution that beats all the other Auto OEMS.

The merger final vote by Solarcity shareholders is scheduled for Nov 17th 2016. Yet with this deal not done yet, there are many that have divided into two camps, those that think this is brilliant such as reported by Barron's yesterday that ISS one of the largest outside analyst groups that advises shareholders on mergers gave it's blessing to what they believe is an outstanding tie up of two companies that can maximize return on investments. Barron's believes that Tesla has addressed all the concerns that allow for a successful merger of the two companies and a maximizing of complementary products.
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One CNBC story feels that this merger might even be a little late. They agree that Solarcity will provide about $1 Billion next year in revenue to the new merged company and add about $500 million in cash to the Tesla corporation over the next 3 years.
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Then you have the latest story also from CNBC where a different analyst believes this is nothing but one large mistake and that is due to what he sees as an impossible return on the investment. Yet even with that he also points out to strong supporters such as Ron Baron who ownes 1.5 million shares that see a 30 to 50 times return on the stock due to the merger.
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Yet with all this, “Playing Amish Paradise in my Tesla,” Musk shared with his 5.8 million Twitter followers on Sunday we have the man himself seeing a much simpler life for us all in the new EV world.

So what is your thoughts on this whole merger and the new EV world Musk sees for us all?

Tesla has announced the end of their free supercharging for all new auto's starting January 1st 2017. CNBC has reported that Tesla has informed them that all auto's sold starting Jan 1st 2017 will only come with a free yearly use of 400KWh or equal to about 1000 miles of driving. After this users of their Supercharging stations will have to pay local electrical rate fee's up to a certain point. This is to allow Tesla to grow their north american network from the current 734 stations with 4600 superchargers. Their superchargers charge a 170 mile range in 30 min. Tesla also has stated that the cost to charge can and will fluctuate over time depending on the time of year and regional area due to the costs of electricity in that area. With Tesla planning to product annually 500,000 cars a year starting in 2018, many think this is necessary to grow. Others feel differently and further yet some wonder if they sell their existing Tesla S, does the life time of free charging transfer with the car to the new owner? This in itself could enhance resale of older tesla's built before January 1st 2017.
Tesla has stated that more defined details will be released by the end of 2016. At this time, if you want lifetime free charging, buy your Tesla S or X now and take delivery by April 17th 2017.
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"Tesla has created its own glass technology group, CEO Elon Musk announced this week on a conference call, reports Eletrek. Not only will this special glass be used for solar roof tiles, but it will also have automotive applications. In fact, the first car to receive the new glass will be the Model 3, Musk confirmed.
Last week, Tesla announced it would create actual solar roofs (as opposed to solar panels) that are highly durable and can provide power for homes. In a video posted to Twitter, Tesla showed off the strength of its new solar roof glass tiles. But the ultra-strong glass technology will apparently trickle down to the roof or windshield of the Model 3. The entry-level sedan offers a full-length glass roof spanning from the windshield to the rear window, making it the perfect vehicle for this tech. Then again, the Tesla Model S already features an open, airy panoramic roof, and the Model X has the largest glass panoramic windshield in production.
Musk took to Twitter to explain the benefits of the special glass.
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The director of Tesla Glass is Mike Pilliod, who was a top materials engineer at Apple. He has patented innovations relating to glass, including glass touchscreens.
Source: Eletrek, Business Insider "
http://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-model-3-use-glass-technology-solar-roofs/
I just thought this was waaaay too cool not to share!

Surprise, Surprise, Tesla posts a $22 million profit for it's latest quarter. How did Tesla do this?
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WSJ reports that Tesla reports the following numbers:
Selling pollution tax credits to other auto makers. Gross profit from the credits soared to $139 million from $39 million a year ago.
Revenue is up to $2.3 billion from $936.8 million a year earlier.
Tesla said it generated free cash flow, repaid $600 million in debt and finished September with $3.1 billion in cash, a decline of $162 million from the end of June.
Tesla also lowered its forecast for capital spending this year to $1.8 billion from $2.25 billion. About $1 billion of that spending could occur in the fourth quarter, it said.
Shares were up 5% to $212.05 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
WSJ says this has been helped by Tesla's newest Model S version that starts now at $66,000 which contributed greatly to their bottom line as the Q3 was the first full quarter of Entry level Model S sales.
Barclays auto analysts has stated that Tesla will need $2.5 billion through the end of 2017 for the Model 3 rollout and completion of the battery factory.
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Last year, Tesla gave the Los Angeles Police Department two Model S P85Ds to evaluate for possible duty as a police vehicle. It seems the LAPD were impressed that they have decided to equip one of the two models to duty as a patrol vehicle.
NBC affiliate KNBC in Los Angeles reports that the LAPD is working with Tesla on an agreement to equip one of the Model Ss with the equipment needed for patrol duty - radios, computer, custody cage, and locking shotgun rack.
"They will have an active role equipping this vehicle," said Vartan Yegiyan, LAPD's assistant commander of the Administrative Services Bureau - the group that oversees the vehicles of the department.
Once equipped, the Model S will be put to the test with doing patrol work and possibly as a high-speed pursuit vehicle.
No matter how the Model S fares in this test, it is still an expensive proposition for the department. Depending on the configuration, a Model S can upwards over $130,000 - this is before it is fitted with all the equipment needed for a police vehicle. The LAPD believes it could be about five years before they seriously consider replacing their conventional patrol vehicles with electrics.
Source: KNBC
Pic Credit: LAPD HQ on Twitter